Southwest Plane Slides Off Runway at Burbank Airport

A Southwest airplane accidentally rolled off the end of a runway at Hollywood Burbank airport Thursday morning as it was landing in heavy rain, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Flight 278, which originated in Oakland, was scheduled to land in Burbank shortly after 9 a.m. when it slid off a runway, and came to a stop after hitting a barrier designed to keep airplanes from skidding off the runway, an FAA spokesman said.

According to reports from the scene, the Engineered materials arrestor system (EMAS) at Hollywood Burbank Airport worked exactly as designed to slow down the aircraft. The Southwest flight skidded beyond the runway and appeared to be less than 100ft from the wall and Hollywood Way.

There's no word on how many passengers were on board the flight when it slid off the runway, but Boeing 737-700s are capable of carrying up to 140 passengers.

The Hollywood Burbank airport tweeted that one of the airport's runways had been closed, but the airport is still open, with all airlines operational.